When we first got this assignment and while we were brainstorming places to visit, Jackson Heights popped into my mind. Not only was it convenient for the both of us to commute there, but it is also a very diverse and interesting neighborhood. I have been to Jackson Heights to visit relatives with my parents and it surprised me how different it was from other areas in Queens.
When my partner and I went to visit Jackson Heights, I learned that it was more diverse than I assumed it to be. Right when we got out of the train station exit, we walked outside onto this area that let us walk on the road. It was a road but cars were banned from entering it and there were people sitting down on chairs on the road. Most of the people we saw were South Asian and so were the stores. My partner and I decided to walk around and explore a bit more before stopping and finding a place to interview.
We decided to walk along under the 7 train which passed by on top of Broadway. As we got farther from the train station we started noticing less South Asian businesses and people (although there were still a lot) and more Hispanic businesses and people as well as Eastern Asian people and businesses.
After walking around, my partner and I got a general sense of the area. The area right by the train station was where most of the South Asian businesses were located and the further left or right you went of the train station the less South Asian businesses there were and there were more Asian and Hispanic businesses. After getting a general feel for the neighborhood, we decided it was time to look around and find a place to interview.
Finding a place to interview was a lot harder than we thought it would be. We were either flat out rejected by a worker or told to come back at a later date to arrange something with a manager. After going from store to store asking for an interview, I thought I finally struck gold when the cashier at an Asian supermarket agreed to an interview. Sadly, the store was new and had only been in the area for three years.
After searching for what seemed like an eternity, I came across Chautari restaurant. What captivated my attention, apart from the fact that it was right next to the train station, was that it said that it served Nepali, Tibetan and Indo-Chinese food. I have eaten Indo Chinese food before and thought that the fusion tasted amazing. I was also curious as to what Nepali and Tibetan food were as well so I decided to try my luck again and interview this business.
After entering the store, I immediately saw two employees sitting down and enjoying a meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant seemed to be in the middle of fast food and fancy. There were tables and comfortable chairs for people to sit at while eating Right when I entered, they stood up to serve me but I told them it wasn’t necessary and that I was looking for an interview. One of the employees pointed to the owner and said to ask him. I had thought I struck gold, all the other stores had told me the owner or manager was not present. “This was going to be the perfect interview,” I had thought to myself.
I introduced myself to the owner and shook his hand. When I told him about my assignment and asked him for an interview he seemed skeptical at first. “Questions? What kind of questions do you want to ask? Let me see your ID first before you ask any questions and then I’ll answer,” he said. After showing him my ID and telling him not to worry and that I was only a college student, his attitude changed and became more quirky. He told me to sit at a table and that he would be right over and was happy to answer any questions I had for him. At that point I was happy, it sure was lucky for me to find the owner of a business who was willing to do an interview.
The first thing Omar asked me before I started my interview was where I was from to which I replied Bangladesh. He then spoke to me in a little bit of Bengali which surprised me because he didn’t look Bengali to me at all. He said that working at his restaurant allowed him to pick up a little bit of Bengali and Hindi which amazed me.
I started off my interview by following the consent form protocol. Sadly, he did not want me to take any pictures of his business although he did say it was okay for me to share the name of the business as well as his name. After getting all the formalities out of the way and introducing myself, we began the interview.
Omar, the restaurant owner, knew early on in life that he wanted to be a chef and so after culinary school he got a job at Crowne Plaza Hotel as a chef. He worked there for a while and eventually became the sous-chef. After working there for a while, he decided to work at Ali Baba which was an Afghan restaurant at Jackson Heights before it closed down. After Omar left Crowne Plaza Hotel, he knew that he wanted to own his own restaurant and be his own boss and went to Ali Baba to learn more about how running a restaurant works. After leaving Ali Baba, Omar opened up Chautari restaurant and has been running it for the past ten years.
After listening to Omar’s introduction and background, the first question I asked him was why did he choose Jackson Heights to open up his restaurant. “I know the people here will eat this food. Most of the people here are Bengali, Indian, Nepali, Tibetan… they won’t eat pizza every day and they can’t eat Wendy’s everyday,” he said as he pointed at the pizza store across from his and the Wendy’s which was two blocks to the right. “My food on the other hand, is what they have in their homes so I know they will like it. Jackson Heights is a very diverse neighborhood and a very populated neighborhood so it was perfect for my business,” he said. He also mentioned how he tried to be more personal than a fast food place and pointed at his fancy table tops and chairs to show it, but at the same time he didn’t want to create a fancy restaurant because it didn’t fit his food style or the area, “… so I [he] make[s] them buy water instead of pouring it for them or delivering their food to them.” Listening to Omar’s answer made me realize that the Asian American businesses and people I had seen while walking earlier were mainly Nepali or Tibetan instead of Chinese.
Since he had been in the area for ten years, the next question I asked him was how has the area changed in the past ten years to which he replied that it has definitely got more crowded. He said, “Jackson Heights is the second Manhattan. You can go anywhere from here. You can go to the airport from the bus, you can take five different trains, there is a lot of public transportation here which makes it very busy.” He said over the past ten years he has seen more people show up to Jackson Heights and claims that it is getting bigger and bigger population wise.
Omar basically said everything I was looking for and answered every question I had about the neighborhood, so I decided to get a little more specific and ask him about his business. Omar told me his restaurant is only open from 12PM to 12AM but he usually comes in as early as 7AM or 8AM to set up and prepare the food. I asked if he has any employees come in early with him to help prepare to which he responded, “No, I don’t need any help. I can do it all myself and don’t mind doing it.” The way he was describing how he would come in early to prepare food, cook and clean, made it seem like such a tedious job and my next question sort of burst out without me realizing it. “Do you like your job or what you do? It sounds like a lot of work.” As soon as he understood what I asked he grinned widely and said of course he loves what he does because he is his own boss. He also said that he has been passionate about cooking ever since he was young and that helps too. I wanted to ask him specific questions about his menu and food items and was considering ordering something new with his insight. I never had Nepali or Tibetan food and asked for his suggestion. He told me his most popular food item was his Tandoori entrees and biryani because there are a lot of South Asian people who order it regularly. He also told me if I wanted to try Nepali food to order the Haas Ko Choila which is a staple of Nepali food. “It’s my personal favorite and my specialty. I changed the recipe up myself to include more spices. A lot of the Indian people around here like spicy food, so I make sure the Haas Ko Choila is spicy to their liking but also still a Nepali dish.”
I wanted to ask him more questions about his food and the major differences between Nepali, Tibetan, and Indian food but he said that he was going to have to cut the interview short because he had an errand to run. Before parting he told me to write about his restaurant in a positive light. He also gave me his phone number and told me to call or text him if I had any questions and saved my number as well. The interview was a success and helped me understand the neighborhood more than just walking around and observing. I was glad to also learn a little more about Tibetan and Nepali culture and just wish I could have asked more questions about the two. I also regret not being able to ask the significance of the name of his restaurant.
